The Cup of Demons
May 10, 2012
Dear Friends,
In Paul’s first letter to the Corinthians, he tells the brethren,
You cannot drink the cup of the Lord and the cup of demons too; you cannot have a part in both the Lord’s table and the table of demons. (10:21 NIV)
This passage has been wrested to support the practice of the sin of Diotrephes (bloc disfellowship or daisy-chain fellowship). Is this a reasonable interpretation of this passage and does it offer support for this practice?
The brethren in Corinth were surrounded by paganism of the worst kind. On the nearby mountain lived shrine prostitutes who would ply their trade in the city at night. The city was wealthy and hedonistic. It was in this culture that the fledgling Corinthian church was thrust on a daily basis.
One of the more common issues that they had to deal with was the purchase of meat. It seems that the pagan temples also functioned as a pseudo-butcher’s shop. Animals would be sacrificed to the gods and then the meat from these animals would either be sold directly from the temple itself to congregants or be sold to vendors who would sell it in the marketplace. If you read between the lines, the temples seemed to have a monopoly on the business so that the choice was to be a vegetarian or eat this sacrificial meat. The early church went back and forth on the propriety of eating this meat.
In 1 Corinthians 8, Paul deals with this hot topic. This was a similar problem to what they were dealing with in the Roman church (see Rom. 14), but with one key difference; while the Romans were buying this meat in the marketplace, the brethren in Corinth were exercising their Christian liberty by “eating in an idol’s temple.”(8:10) The issue seems to be that this practice of eating meat is not in and of itself sinful. He acknowledges that an idol is nothing and there is only one God. Yet, he also goes on to say that the key issue here is that you may cause your weak brethren to stumble. The weak-in-faith person believes that idols are something and therefore cannot eat of the meat sacrificed in honor of the pagan gods. Paul concludes chapter 8 with a bit of hyperbole going so far as to say that if this causes his brethren to stumble not only will he avoid these circumstances, he will never eat meat again.
Therefore, if what I eat causes my brother or sister to fall into sin, I will never eat meat again, so that I will not cause them to fall. (v. 13)
This is the context in which we must frame chapter 10.
In chapter 10, Paul warns of the dangers of participation in these pagan services. There is an inherent danger in participating in these practices. He says “So, if you think you are standing firm, be careful that you don’t fall!” (v.12) and “Therefore, my dear friends, flee from idolatry.” (v. 14) Paul is saying, in effect, “don’t play with fire or you might get burned.” Even the brother who was strong in faith was in danger of failing prey to sin if he attended pagan services in order to get the meat.
Paul now deals directly with the breaking of bread and, not surprisingly, reiterates the one and only true position ever stated in the Scriptures that if you are part of the One Body, you are entitled (required!) to participate in the breaking of bread.
Is not the cup of thanksgiving for which we give thanks a participation in the blood of Christ? And is not the bread that we break a participation in the body of Christ? Because there is one loaf, we, who are many, are one body, for we all share the one loaf. (vvs. 16, 17 NIV)
Now comes the part of this chapter which has caused many people to erroneously think that the Bible condones the sin of Diotrephes. Paul says,
No, but the sacrifices of pagans are offered to demons, not to God, and I do not want you to be participants with demons. You cannot drink the cup of the Lord and the cup of demons too; you cannot have a part in both the Lord’s table and the table of demons. (vvs. 20, 12 NIV)
Now we have to ask ourselves, what solution to this problem is Paul looking for here? Let’s give the two options.
Option #1 – Paul is asking the brethren to practice the sin of Diotrephes. He is suggesting that because brethren are eating this meat sacrificed to idols in these temples they should be put out of fellowship at the Lord’s table.
Option #2 – Paul is suggesting that these brethren not exercise their Christian liberty in such a way that causes other people to stumble and therefore stop attending these pagan services.
The answer is obvious to anyone who wants to see the truth. Paul is suggesting option #2, not option #1. As he goes on from here to say, the issue is not protecting the Lord’s table from contaminated individuals who are also eating in idol’s temples, the issue is exercising Christian liberty to the hurt of others.
“I have the right to do anything,” you say-but not everything is beneficial. “I have the right to do anything”-but not everything is constructive. No one should seek their own good, but the good of others. (vvs. 23,24 NIV)
Paul even reiterates that if you are eating this meat bought in the marketplace, this is OK unless you are causing someone else to stumble, but he still doesn’t want them to participate in the pagan services.
The truth is that when ecclesias practice the sin of Diotrephes, they are sinning, not “protecting the truth.” They are directly defying the command to recognize the One Body. Furthermore, the argument that someone who is part of the One Body but should be cut off on the basis that they share the “cup of demons (i.e. “fellowshipping error”) is wresting the meaning of 1 Corinthians 10. In addition, to equate “the cup of demons” (participating in a pagan ceremony with shrine prostitutes) with any issues within the brotherhood today is taking absurd expositional liberties with the text.
We conclude as Paul did in 1 Corinthians 10.
Whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God. (v. 31)
Have a great week,
